Webb signs CONCACAF up for UCCI’s conference

(CNS): Jeffrey Webb, the vice president of FIFA and the president of CONCACAF and the local football association, is using his influence once again to support local events, this time at the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI). CONCACAF will be sponsoring a round table plenary session at the UCCI’s upcoming conference on sports ethics, a major theme in Webb’s platform on the international sports stage. The March event aims to raise awareness of the potential for corruption and decline in ethical standards across all the various sectors of society, including sports, and the consequent damaging effect on economies and social harmony. “This is an era of profound opportunity for all of us to make a difference,” said Webb.

“It is our time to forge a common agenda, to build on solid foundations and guarantee professional excellence,” the world football boss stated. “CONCACAF is making a commitment in the fight against corruption because it is not only about protecting the integrity of football, but also working among all stakeholders involved in order to promote positive role models.”

UCCI President Roy Bodden noted the integral role of sports in life in the Cayman Islands, and the importance of football in the lives of our young boys and girls, men and women. 

“We appreciate the interest and immense effort that Mr Webb exerts in furthering the place of football in the Cayman Islands and, indeed, in the region,” Bodden said. “By supporting the conference, he further ensures that our values of integrity and ethics are preserved not only in sports but in the community as a whole.”

Conference Director Dr Livingston Smith said the Planning Committee was extremely grateful that CONCACAF is on board.  “CONCACAF shows its recognition of the importance of focusing on ethical issues in all aspects of society,” he said.

The UCCI conference opens on 19 March with keynote speaker Dr Huguette Labelle, the head of Transparency International, an organisation that rates governments worldwide on anti-corruption. The conference will focus on strategies of various regional governments and organisations, public and private, to raise sensitivity to these threats and how to curb and eliminate them.

The NGO works in more than 100 countries in the fight against corruption and each year it scores countries on a Corruption Perceptions Index regarding how corrupt their public sectors are seen to be.

Dr Labelle will be joined by regional and local heads of states, ministers of government, and directors of anti-corruption agencies. They will be sharing ideas on how corruption can be reduced and eliminated from all sectors of communities across the region. 

For information on the conference, go to UCCIconference.ky.